Thursday, February 22, 2007

BGs and Style 10 -use reference, get ideas and inspiration from different styles

There is nothing more creatively stultifying than having a "style". Your style should be constantly growing. When you get used to one style, get mad at yourself and discard it for some new ideas. This isn't easy, but it's more fun than stagnation.There is no greater evil in cartoons today, than that a show show should have a style. Look at old cartoons and take inspiration. In the 1930s to the 1950s the cartoonists constantly experimented with the looks of their cartoons-especially with the background styles.A lot of background artists didn't even come from animation. Many of them were illustrators that didn't have pre set notions of what cartoon BGs should look like. Of course they couldn't completely dictate what they would draw and paint. That was the director's job.The directors of the past would work with them to guide the artists to compose their BGs functionally to help make the characters and stories more effective. But the directors were very open to the BG artists creating their own looks.A lot of people think that Ren and Stimpy had a style. It didn't. Go back and look at a couple episodes back to back. You will see many different Background styles and character styles too. We constantly experimented and tried to outdo each other and ourselves.

Background styles can and should vary wildly. It's fun to experiment. Just make sure the BGs serve their functions-they compose around the characters, give mood to the stories and tickle the eyeballs.Don't let the executives tell you that kids crave a consistent look. They don't. Smash the exec in the face and tattoo this post on him, tie him to a chair and make him watch 5 Bugs Bunny cartoons in a row so that he can see that the only consistency there is in a good cartoon series is a consistent desire of the artists to change and get better.

Avoid "wonkiness" and chaotic uncontrolled messy backgrounds, because these will distract from the characters.

i would agree 100% that artists should always be evolving and trying out new things. plus be influenced by tons of differnt styles.

its a real shame though that the society we live in now wants consistencey. I can't bring myself to do it, it makes you feel boring and stale. Im going to be a different artist in year and a completely different on in a 10 years, and if you dont have no dead set style you have no "direction".

Though i agree with what your saying about art should be about experimentation. i think that it works best with a show set up like ren and stimpy and bug buggy where each episode is a bit of a variety show.

thought ongoing serie stories are not used ALOT i think then a little bit of consistancy is needed. Though even then it doesn't really matter.

yo got the right idea my friend! wish more people in the industry thought like you.

I like the term controlled variety,I agree that searching for, and focusing on "style" or stylization can cause stagnation, and can turn your work into boring shit. I think artists should focus more on voice than style. Developing your imagination, expressing your voice in as many different ways as you can, making mistakes and learning what does and doesn't sound like you. Locking yourself in the "style" box won't do you any favors.

What is the Looney Tunes with Marvin the Martian, in space, where him and Bugs are running around these red pathways & corridors floating in space? When I was a kid I didn't think anything of it, I loved it, but didn't find it strange. Now I see it and find it was quite...it was like Dali or something, very surreal, strange, and didn't make any sense. I think kids really live art more than anyone gives credit.